Study: Android to Surpass iOS App Count Soon
Apple pioneered the first-party mobile app store as we know it in July, 2008. Since then, the Apple App Store has played an increasingly important role in the success of the iOS ecosystem and continues to boast the largest app population (over 350,000) of any app store out there. But, according to market research outfit Distimo, its leading rival, the Android Market, is catching up with the App Store at such a fast rate that the former could become the most populous app store within the next five months.
Just for the record, the Android Market has already leapfrogged the App Store in terms of the total number of free applications available with them. The Android app repository now boasts 134,342 free applications compared to the App Store's 121,845.
“If all application stores maintain their current growth pace, approximately five months from now Google Android Market will be the largest store in terms of number of applications followed by the Apple App Store for iPhone and iPad, Windows Phone 7 Marketplace, BlackBerry App World and Nokia Ovi Store,” wrote Distimo's Gert Jan Spriensma in a blog post regarding the study.
Windows 7 Marketplace is also making reasonable progress and is expected to “be larger than the Nokia Ovi Store and BlackBerry App World prior to the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace being available for even a full year.”
The prospect of the App Store breathing in the Android Market's slipstream is now very real. But does the app count even matter after a certain point?

Image Credit: Distimo
Comments
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pmassey31545
April 29, 2011 at 12:02pm
@ChyITGuru. Must be a fanboy. People just can't accept that the Android OS/Market is as good or better than iOS and its market/Store.
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ChyITGuru
April 29, 2011 at 7:25am
Android may have more apps but how many of those apps actually work? Google doesn’t monitor these apps or do any testing to make sure they work or aren’t infecting your phone with crap. This is where Apple leads over Android IMO. I have had multiple Android phones and half of the apps i ever downloaded had problems with force closing, hell android would crash with just the barebones which means it’s not stable, i would never own another Android phone even if they paid me, it’s a pile of garbage and soon enough people will come to the senses. You can’t tell me I'm wrong if I am speaking from my own personal experience with Android, i had the G1, Moto Droid, Droid X, and a couple others with nothing but problems.
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I Jedi
April 29, 2011 at 4:43am
When I first got my HTC Hero, I was very, very excited. I saw what Android could be, and my prediction for its popularity as a smartphone OS could not have been more on. Everyone I knew praised and touted the iPhone, like it was some gift from god's ass itself. In fact, as I was getting my HTC Hero at Best Buy, some couple, in their 30s, were getting themselves iPhones instead of the Hero itself. I knew then that while I might be adopting an early piece of technology, I was adopting the right choice from a consumer and nerd standpoint.
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tornato7
April 28, 2011 at 7:55pm
Actually with the number of apps on alternative android markets, Android will probably exceed iphone sooner than that.
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